And onto the sun kissed Tenerife rock of the gorge at Arico Arriba!
It was a bit of a mission at first locating the right gorge, but after a few wrong turns and some broken and bumpy Tarmac roads, we found where we were supposed to be. The landscape is quite barren, with a lot of waste land between buildings. The gorge was up the hillside from the coast, so we got good views across the sea to Gran Canaria - our neighbouring island.
The gorge was only a short walk from the car and soon the views of the sea were gone as we entered the old dry river bed.
There were plenty of routes to go at, most of which involved pulling on small pocketed holds or larger slopers. The rock is volcanic and pre-polished by the years of water warn erosion, from when the river used to flow. The first few routes were nothing special, but as the day wore on, we got used to the rock type and got better at selecting the better looking climbs.
The heat was amazing. Not felt the warmth of the sun in ages. It was actually a bit too hot on the sunny side of the gorge, but the enjoyment of feeling the heat out weighed the disadvantage of sweaty palms! We did have to rest in the shade a few times though! It felt a world away from last weeks antics in the frozen north of Scotland!
After dark, we went an dipped our toes in the sea. It's right outside the house, so we thought we ought to make the most of it! The moon was still just about full and we could see plenty of stars as well.
Arico Arriba:
(Numbers correspond to guidebook topo)
2. No Name (5)
3. No Name (5-)
3a. New Route not in guide (5)
6. Pa'empezar (5-)
5. Iniciacion (5-)
4. La Guarra (4+)
39. No hay nivel (5)
43. Monkey (5+) cool route!
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